David is a maker; he sees his creations in his dreams
David with his combine harvester, Karantina, Kenya 15 April 2013 David is a maker. An artisan and craftsman who makes furniture as a carpenter in his day job, he’s nonetheless driven by visions of what he sees in his dreams to build these toys made out of scraps of wood, metal and plastic. That green […]
For Sale
Market day in Kagio, Kenya 12th April 2013 This post was written by niti bhan and rss originates from www.nitibhan.com
License plate
Kagio produce market, Kenya 12 April 2013 This post was written by niti bhan and rss originates from www.nitibhan.com
Reflecting on the good old fashioned explorer’s travelogue
Reading through Jan Chipchase’s stereotypically English approach to announcing the impending arrival of his apparently well received book is making me quirk my mouth in a remiscent smile of the days when we hung on every post – Chipchase at his height, splashed as the design researcher’s Indiana Jones, across the New York Times in […]
The prepaid economy of Africa
As the chart shows, Africa’s mobile subscriptions are 96% prepaid or pay as you go. That is, they are not bound by contract to any mobile services provider. A reasonable number have more than one SIM, to take advantage of different operator offers. This demographic cuts across all income, education and professional barriers, its literally […]
The rural mobile economy is prepaid.
With Radheshyam Meena, Farmer in January 2009 I began the New Year of 2009 in the midst of prototyping my fieldwork protocol for the Prepaid Economy project which had just won one of 9 Small Grants offered in competition by the iBoP Asia Project in The Philippines. India’s familiarity was the reason for its choice […]
Reflections on Jugaad: A short personal history
That’s from the beginning of 2007, when we first tried to make Jugaad a reality. A loosely knit collaboration that would span Asia and Africa and America. I gave up on it before the summer of 2007 was over, having moved out of the United States that year. Little did I know that I was […]
Global prepaid vs contract subscriber numbers – Mobile Economy 2013
Promoting Africa’s Informal Sector
Organising the informal sector and recognising its role as a profitable activity may contribute to economic development. This can also improve the capacity of informal workers to meet their basic needs by increasing their incomes and strengthening their legal status. This could be achieved by raising government awareness, allowing better access to financing, and fostering […]
Risk is dynamic, not static
Exhibition Panel – Samsui Woman, National Museum of Singapore, March 2013 And investor, bankers and venture capitalists imagine they are taking risks that deem high interest rates when operating in Sub Saharan Africa. Come now, you do not gamble with your next meal, your risk is static. What every micro entrepreneur, in the informal economy […]
